Open surgical intervention was once the standard treatment for the removal of calculi or stones from the urinary tract of a patient. But other less invasive techniques, such as ureteroscopy, have emerged as safe and effective alternatives to open surgery. During ureteroscopy, the doctor inserts an ureteroscope into the urinary tract through a natural opening in the body and positions the scope proximate the kidney stone. The stone may then be captured and removed from the body using a small basket that extends into the urinary tract through the ureteroscope. While smaller stones may be removed in one piece, larger stones may need to be broken up (or fragmented) before they can be successfully removed. Many techniques, such as lithotripsy, exist to break up stones within the body.
Lithotripsy devices direct energy (electrohydraulic, ultrasonic, electromechanical, laser, etc.) through a probe to fragment the stone. These devices may be introduced into the body through the working lumen of the ureteroscope, or may be introduced percutaneously. In percutaneous endoscopic techniques, a lithotripsy device may be introduced into the body through a small puncture in the body. The device may be positioned proximate the stone and focused shock waves (or another energy) may be applied to the stone to break the stone into multiple fragments. The fragments may then be allowed to pass naturally out of the body or may be removed using a basket.
In some cases, it may be desirable to remove all the stone fragments from the body to prevent stone recurrence and stone migration. Larger stone fragments may be successfully removed using the basket. However, smaller fragments (typically less than 1 mm) may be difficult to remove using the basket. In some cases, a suction tube of the lithotripsy device may be used collect the smaller stone fragments. However, removal of stone fragments though the suction tube may result in clogging that necessitates repeated removal, cleaning and reinsertion of the tube during an operation. The methods and systems of the current disclosure may rectify some of the deficiencies described above.